Falcon 9 Block 5: 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare
Note: Name of payload is provisional. First launch of an ultimately 5 reconnaissance satellites for the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), with 1 satellite featuring an electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) telescope. The other 4 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites are to be launched at a later date. They will be launched to low Earth orbit between 600 and 700 km by 2025, enabling South Korea’s military to observe the nuclear-armed neighbor’s key military facilities every two hours with 30-50 centimeters resolution imagery, according to a 2019 report produced by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning. The project is lead by the Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), with input from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hanwha Systems and Thales Alenia Space. ESA's EIRSAT-1 is also onboard as a rideshare passenger. This 2U cubesat carries three experiments, including a novel gamma ray detector to study some of the most luminous explosions in the universe.

Mission Data

The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).
About Falcon 9 Block 5
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
Launch updates
Launch success.
Source ↗Liftoff
Livestream has started
Adjusting T-0 and setting GO
Source ↗Adjusting T-0
Source ↗Delayed to December 1
Updated launch window.
Source ↗Adding approximate launch time
Added launch (payload details at https://spacenews.com/south-korea-hires-spacex-to-launch-five-spy-satellites-by-2025/).
Source ↗
Launch Site
Launch data from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs.